THE AUTHOR (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER 8 - ADMIRATION

"So what brought you here to us?" Grace asked as she prepared a cup of coffee for Adie and me as we sat on the couch in her office. I was still mesmerized by her and I couldn't help but notice everything she did. Everything around her was vibrant, even the paintings on the wall glistened as she moved around the room. I watched her carefully as she poured coffee for us; she was graceful. I was enticed even by her hobby of sweeping the hair on her face with her slender fingers, which were the cutest fingers I have ever seen. They were totally perfect!

"Hey! Jake, what do you think about her? What's her rate?" Adie whispered in my ear as he nudged his shoulder to mine.

"Shh!" I tried to silence Adie because I was too nervous that Grace would catch us talking about her. Immediately, I took a quick glance and luckily Grace was completely focused on making coffee. I then turned to Adie and his face was expectant. I sighed as I knew that I should at least give him a portion of my thoughts.

"Well, she's beautiful." I softly replied trying to sound as calm as possible. I didn’t need Adie to have another reason to tease me. Who knows what this monkey would do? He's just one of the most unpredictable persons I've ever known.

"Beautiful?" Adie questioned in disbelief. "She's a total Goddess!" Adie exclaimed making his voice a bit loud, which in turn made me anxious. Again, I glanced at Grace but this time she was done making the coffee and was about to serve us a cup. I gave Adie a meaningful stare and signaled at him to shut his mouth.

"Who's the Goddess?" Grace asked smiling while she put down our cup of coffee on the wooden table in front of us.

"Oh that? It's-" Adie was about to blurt it out but my instincts kicked in before he made a fool out of both us.

I swiftly placed my right hand over his mouth. "Oh! We were just talking about," I paused as I scanned the room looking for what to say.  Adie on the other hand was able to pull my hand off of his mouth.

"Actually, we were talking about you!" Adie replied as he wiped his mouth with his left hand.

"Adie?" I raised my voice at Adie in disbelief, silently grinding my teeth at him.

"What?" Adie replied innocently, unaware by how much he had made me feel awkward.

"Thank you for that!" Grace smiled and it relieved me that Grace didn't mind the comment at all. That made me admire Grace more and more, and the more I stared at her, the more I enjoyed her good qualities. She had sparkling brown eyes and her smile was mesmerizing. Her skin was fair, free of blemish, while her cheeks had a tint of redness on them. Though I could recognize the fatigue by her leisurely movements, it didn't even deduct on how gorgeous she was. Those made me wonder what she would look like if she took off her doctor's gown and actually wore a dress.

"So if I may ask, why would Peak Corporation visit such a humble foundation like ours today?" Grace asked while I seemed to be awakening from my daydreaming. Wait, I was daydreaming?

"Oh! Sorry for that!" Adie apologized and stood up, placing his hands out to shake Grace’s hand.

"The name is Adie Hunt and this,” Adie turned his head slightly towards me, “is Jake Thomas. Nice to meet you!" Adie formally introduced himself and I followed Adie's lead. Grace also stood up and reached out her hand.

"Dr. Grace Chan or you can call me Grace. oh! You can now sit please!" Grace motioning her hand for us to sit

"Why don't you try my coffee then?" Grace offered so Adie and I then took a sip and we were both surprised by the taste of the coffee. It was actually good! It wasn’t too bitter nor too sweet. There was just something in it that made me wake-up, as if energized, and I actually enjoyed the taste of it.